shrewd
shrewd / shroōd/ • adj. 1. having or showing sharp powers of judgment; astute: she was shrewd enough to guess the motive behind his gesture a shrewd career move.2. archaic (esp. of weather) piercingly cold: a shrewd east wind. ∎ (of a blow) severe: a bayonet's shrewd thrust. ∎ mischievous; malicious.DERIVATIVES: shrewd·ly adv.shrewd·ness n.ORIGIN: Middle English (in the sense ‘evil in nature or character’): from shrew in the sense ‘evil person or thing,’ or as the past participle of obsolete shrew ‘to curse.’ The word developed the sense ‘cunning,’ and gradually gained a favorable connotation during the 17th cent.
More From encyclopedia.com
Sense , SENSE
"Sense" is the distinctive central notion in theories of thought and language inspired by the later work of Gottlob Frege ("sense" translates F… Evil , Evil
Evil is an umbrella concept that includes both a moral aspect (sin) and a natural, nonmoral aspect (suffering). Most religions address both mora… Senses , Senses
The senses are the immediate principles of sensation. They have an organic structure that is scientifically observable and are energized by an… brisk , brisk •Basque, Monégasque •ask, bask, cask, flask, Krasnoyarsk, mask, masque, task •facemask •arabesque, burlesque, Dantesque, desk, grotesque, humor… Sixth Sense , The theory of the existence of a sixth sense as a convenient explanation of paranormal phenomena was first put forward in the era of animal magnetism… Puck , Puck / pək/ • n. another name for Robin Goodfellow. ∎ (puck) a mischievous or evil sprite. DERIVATIVES: puck·like / -ˌlīk/ adj.
puck / pək/ • n. 1. a…
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
shrewd